Development of incoming freshman

[Charliebball]

I get the practice issue, but I don't think it was practice against Cincy, because Meg and Mikayla both got in early and Geno said that they just weren't ready to play. The question in my mind is would it have been more effective as player development to let them sit for the rest of the first half and give them a chance to correct it in the second half? I recognize that half the people on this board will say Geno sat them the rest of the game, so that is the right answer by definition. I'm not sure I agree.

so disagreeable.................shame on you...............

 

[CocoHusky]

I get the practice issue, but I don't think it was practice against Cincy, because Meg and Mikayla both got in early and Geno said that they just weren't ready to play. The question in my mind is would it have been more effective as player development to let them sit for the rest of the first half and give them a chance to correct it in the second half?

Perhaps. But keep in mind there are other players on the roster (Kyla and Molly) that also deserve an opportunity. IMO you have to reward the players that were ready to play in this case Kyla Irwin was ready to play and she was rewarded with a second half start.

 

[meyers7]

I agree when it is something important. These are college sports discussions. Hardly earth shattering. Geno is not a God. A very talent and successful coach who is not infallible which he, himself, has pointed out on numerous occasions. How serious he was on those occasions I don't know.

 

[GoUconn7961]

This freshman class has underwhelmed because of the "lessons" Geno tries to teach. He is making a mistake with how he uses his top recruits. Sure, winning by 30+ ppg is nice, but seeing the development of the players that will carry the torch for your program is more important. We will see more transfers in large bunches if Geno does not relax with this approach. Quite frankly it's obnoxious.

Breaking down your players for your own benefit is dangerous to the long term future of the program. The fans came to see the teamwork, camraderie, and effortless flow. They did not go to watch Geno. Or better yet hear about their deficiencies. Teach them and let them play, who cares if they fail. But let them play basketball and show their natural skillsets over National TV.


Play your Freshman, Geno.

Geno has 11 National Championships under his belt. I think he knows what he's doing. The majority of the last Olympic team were former UCONN players> I think he knows what he's doing. UCONN is well represented in the WNBA. I think he knows what he's doing.

He has built-up/torn-down and rebuilt players and made them All Americans and helped them surpass their own goals.

I think he knows what he's doing.

 

[CocoHusky]

I agree when it is something important. These are college sports discussions. Hardly earth shattering. Geno is not a God. A very talent and successful coach who is not infallible which he, himself, has pointed out on numerous occasions. How serious he was on those occasions I don't know.

We are in full agreement then: when Geno said he is "infallible" he was not being serious!

 

[Charliebball]

I'm going to end my participation in this thread with a purely philosophical question...................would you rather have UConn win a NC by playing the "undeserving" freshmen some minutes in games if for no other reason then to keep the starters healthy or would you prefer to lose in the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament because two of your starters who logged way too many minutes during the regular season, finally were injured to the point where they couldn't produce in crunch time?

Just a thought.................

 

[PhillyCoach]

This thread is the epitome of what Geno has talked about for the last few years. The culture is changing in a direction that does not make coaching fun. Many players have a mindset that is not conducive to Geno's proven methods. (Can you say Old School.) In addition, the general population has been influenced by the PC culture--everybody gets a trophy and everybody should have an equal outcome of playing time. Many on this board know the voices of concern are getting louder and louder about "abusive coaches." If you drive your players too much that could be abuse to some people. How about suicide drills as punishment for a missed play? Geno sees and hears all this and IMHO, that is the number one determining factor for his retirement. It's not fun anymore. Spending time changing a players mindset is a short term thing.

On top of that part of the problem let's add the philosophy that "everybody has a right to an opinion." Big can of worms. Flip side of everyone gets a trophy. YOU DESERVE IT! Why? Because that is the prevailing PC view.
Sorry, I don't agree. Hey, that is my opinion. I could go into thousands of examples that one does not get an opinion. My good friend has a great saying on this--"When you want to learn something about an important topic, go to someone who knows nothing about it." That encapsulates the thought of "we all have an opinion" and I guess the opinions are equal.

Many of the best posters (IMO) are the old school philosophers. Tried, but true. Proven results. Virtual reality is phony. Let's get real. In my old neighborhood, the smart ones would only open their mouths when they had something of value to share. Of course, there were always some empty barrels. IMHO, some opinions should be kept to themselves. But, I guess everyone today has a right to show what they really know. Just my opinion-ha!

 

[Carnac]

Hey wait a minute! Are you Geno Auriemma disguised as a BY Poster?

I truly believe that when Auriemma has a few minutes of "down" time", he logs on to the Boneyard when he needs a little pick-me-up, a second opinion or wants a little "comic relief".

 

[Charliebball]

I truly believe that when Auriemma has a few minutes of "down" time", he logs on to the Boneyard when he needs a little pick-me-up, or wants a little "comic relief".

hey if everybody had the same opinion how boring would this forum be? I love contrary opinions as long as they are well thought out....................as far as I know nobody here has all the answers...................well........... maybe TonyC...................

 

[Yorkeez4]

I have to disagree with EricLA. Practice does not make perfect. As Vince Lombardi said "perfect practice makes perfect". I believe Grno is in the Lombardi camp on this one and plays the personnel that practices perfect, or at least very good. Practicing poorly improves no one.

 

[my2cents]

Putting on my "Flak" jacket before posting this.
Bill Belichick, one of the greatest coaches of all time, is being "questioned" or "challenged" for his benching of Malcolm Butler during the Super Bowl.
No one is questioning Geno's unbelievable success and greatness.
We are just trying to understand some of his methods regarding certain players. We understand that we are not at practices and can only guess about behind the scene issues.
If you look at comparable freshman stats, Megan Walkers numbers are very close to Napheesa Colliers. I just don't remember Geno being so hard on Collier.
Why is he being so hard and public on Megan Walker vs other players????

 

[HopJim]

Geno has 11 National Championships under his belt. I think he knows what he's doing. The majority of the last Olympic team were former UCONN players> I think he knows what he's doing. UCONN is well represented in the WNBA. I think he knows what he's doing.

He has built-up/torn-down and rebuilt players and made them All Americans and helped them surpass their own goals.

I think he knows what he's doing.

Geno is one of my ALL TIME Goats-clearly one of the greatest. That being said, all of the other greats I know have the characteristic of being able to adjust as players and their game change.

 

[meyers7]

This thread is the epitome of what Geno has talked about for the last few years. The culture is changing in a direction that does not make coaching fun. Many players have a mindset that is not conducive to Geno's proven methods. (Can you say Old School.) In addition, the general population has been influenced by the PC culture--everybody gets a trophy and everybody should have an equal outcome of playing time. Many on this board know the voices of concern are getting louder and louder about "abusive coaches." If you drive your players too much that could be abuse to some people. How about suicide drills as punishment for a missed play? Geno sees and hears all this and IMHO, that is the number one determining factor for his retirement. It's not fun anymore. Spending time changing a players mindset is a short term thing.

On top of that part of the problem let's add the philosophy that "everybody has a right to an opinion." Big can of worms. Flip side of everyone gets a trophy. YOU DESERVE IT! Why? Because that is the prevailing PC view.
Sorry, I don't agree. Hey, that is my opinion. I could go into thousands of examples that one does not get an opinion. My good friend has a great saying on this--"When you want to learn something about an important topic, go to someone who knows nothing about it." That encapsulates the thought of "we all have an opinion" and I guess the opinions are equal.

Many of the best posters (IMO) are the old school philosophers. Tried, but true. Proven results. Virtual reality is phony. Let's get real. In my old neighborhood, the smart ones would only open their mouths when they had something of value to share. Of course, there were always some empty barrels. IMHO, some opinions should be kept to themselves. But, I guess everyone today has a right to show what they really know. Just my opinion-ha!

There are a lot of posters on here who open their mouths and remove all doubt.

 

[CocoHusky]

Putting on my "Flak" jacket before posting this.
Bill Belichick, one of the greatest coaches of all time, is being "questioned" or "challenged" for his benching of Malcolm Butler during the Super Bowl.
No one is questioning Geno's unbelievable success and greatness.
We are just trying to understand some of his methods regarding certain players. We understand that we are not at practices and can only guess about behind the scene issues.
If you look at comparable freshman stats, Megan Walkers numbers are very close to Napheesa Colliers. I just don't remember Geno being so hard on Collier.
Why is he being so hard and public on Megan Walker vs other players????

Two significant differences. Collier was and is an advanced defense player when compared to Megan Walker. Which is also the answer to your second question: Maybe Geno is being harder on Megan because she has more untapped potential than Napheesa. Think about what a great tribute that is to Megan Walker and you might find it easier to get on board with what Geno is doing.

 

[meyers7]

I'm going to end my participation in this thread with a purely philosophical question....would you rather have UConn win a NC by playing the "undeserving" freshmen some minutes in games if for no other reason then to keep the starters healthy or would you prefer to lose in the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament because two of your starters who logged way too many minutes during the regular season, finally were injured to the point where they couldn't produce in crunch time?

Just a thought.......

Well since you want to dig into philosophical, i.e. unrealistic questions, then I pick neither. I'd much rather win a NC using freshmen/sophs/juniors/seniors who deserve minutes.

 

[Charliebball]

Well since you want to dig into philosophical, i.e. unrealistic questions, then I pick neither. I'd much rather win a NC using freshmen/sophs/juniors/seniors who deserve minutes.

I'm unclear why you think it's unrealistic...................it's exactly what's happening....................if Geno's current substitution pattern continues, I'm just waiting to see which of the injured starters are going to be hobbling in the tournament..........

 

[JoePgh]

I'm going to end my participation in this thread with a purely philosophical question....would you rather have UConn win a NC by playing the "undeserving" freshmen some minutes in games if for no other reason then to keep the starters healthy or would you prefer to lose in the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament because two of your starters who logged way too many minutes during the regular season, finally were injured to the point where they couldn't produce in crunch time?

Just a thought.......

Don't you think Geno sees that danger as clearly as you do? He makes a comment about that after nearly every game, with more emphasis in the games where the freshmen either didn't play (presumably because of practice problems) or played poorly in the few minutes they got.

And you can see that he is trying to address it -- Crystal got the last game off and will probably get the next game off as well (and maybe also Saturday's game). Despite her absence, most of the other starters had minutes in the 20's, not the 30's.

What was noticeable against Cincinnati was not the number of bench minutes (which was rather high) but who got those minutes: Kyla and Molly rather than Megan and Mikayla. The latter have more talent and more potential, but the former were ready to play on Sunday. If this continues (and we hope it doesn't), Kyla and Molly will get the majority of the "starter relief" minutes, and Megan and Mikayla will get the mop-up minutes in garbage time. I hope (and I am sure Geno hopes) that it doesn't come to that.

I have a higher opinion of Megan's and Mikayla's character than some who comment here, including the OP. I don't think that either one of them is so delusional as to think that she is playing perfectly well and is being unfairly judged by the coaches. I think they know that Kyla and Molly played better on Sunday than they did. And I also don't think that it is in their character to just bail out ("cut and run") rather than facing up to adversity on the basketball court for probably the first time in their lives. They know that they are facing a character test that will have an impact on their entire lives (not just on the court) for their entire lives on the planet. When they face adversity, how will they deal with it? When they know that they have the physical skill to surmount the challenge, will they dig deep and use that potential, or will they say, "This is too hard -- I need a break"?

They have to look in the mirror after this season is over, and I think they know it. And I think they will recognize what they need to do about it.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

You don't learn from practicing all day. You learn from playing the sport 5 on 5 vs. real competition.

Um NO.

 

[CocoHusky]

I'm unclear why you think it's unrealistic....it's exactly what's happening.....if Geno's current substitution pattern continues, I'm just waiting to see which of the injured starters are going to be hobbling in the tournament.....

Nice! You want our players to get hurt to prove that you are right and Geno is wrong? very nice!

 

[Rocket009]

I'm unclear why you think it's unrealistic....it's exactly what's happening.....if Geno's current substitution pattern continues, I'm just waiting to see which of the injured starters are going to be hobbling in the tournament.....

Unlike prior years? Every year there are nagging injuries that the players have to deal with. Look at all the other the programs, they are all dealing with injuries too.

The fallacy that was proposed was that UCONN would win an NC if they allow all their freshmen to get more minutes and rest the starters. Let's see how that works for TN for example.

 

[Charliebball]

Putting on my "Flak" jacket before posting this.
Bill Belichick, one of the greatest coaches of all time, is being "questioned" or "challenged" for his benching of Malcolm Butler during the Super Bowl.
No one is questioning Geno's unbelievable success and greatness.
We are just trying to understand some of his methods regarding certain players. We understand that we are not at practices and can only guess about behind the scene issues.
If you look at comparable freshman stats, Megan Walkers numbers are very close to Napheesa Colliers. I just don't remember Geno being so hard on Collier.
Why is he being so hard and public on Megan Walker vs other players????

somewhat different in that Butler has been accused of testing positive for pot during Super Bowl week and apparently showing up late for team meetings.............I don't think any UConn player would be seeing the arena never mind the court if they had done that.........that said I did find it strange that Butler was allowed to play on special teams..........

 

[Charliebball]

Unlike prior years? Every year there are nagging injuries that the players have to deal with. Look at all the other the programs, they are all dealing with injuries too.

The fallacy that was proposed was that UCONN would win an NC if they allow all their freshmen to get more minutes and rest the starters. Let's see how that works for TN for example.

How'd it work out last year with no bench help?

 

[victor64]

I'm unclear why you think it's unrealistic....it's exactly what's happening.....if Geno's current substitution pattern continues, I'm just waiting to see which of the injured starters are going to be hobbling in the tournament.....

He already has three that are hobbling...

I don't think it was predetermined that Walker was only going to play six minutes. I watched the tape again. She played OK. Nothing spectacular. She missed calling out a screen that must have drilled Kia. Geno yelled at Walker for her screw up. She gave him a look that he didn't like. I can appreciate the frustration on Walker's part but by this time, she should no better than to give him a look.

As for Coombs, Geno was right, she did not appear ready to play. Geno has the luxury of having bench kids that are dying to play. He chose that option.

 

[meyers7]

I'm unclear why you think it's unrealistic....it's exactly what's happening.....if Geno's current substitution pattern continues, I'm just waiting to see which of the injured starters are going to be hobbling in the tournament.....

Just because you think that is happening, doesn't mean it is. You're projecting your own fears. You honestly think Geno and Co. haven't dealt with minute/injury issues in the past? And have no idea what they are doing? Really???? You honestly think Geno is trying to injure a player in order to spite another??? Really???

 

[Tonyc]

One thing I was told some time ago. To get better at anything you have to change what your doing understanding that if you want to get better at anything you have to get worse first. Change will make your worse as you go through it and then you will get better. In other words. You have change what your doing or you wont get better. So you suffer through constant changes and constant tweaking to get better. The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and thinking things will change.